Fair Trade Judaica (FTJ)

Fair Trade Judaica promotes fair trade as a Jewish value through educating the Jewish community, and expanding the production, distribution, and sale of fair trade Judaica products. We envision a world in which Jewish consumers recognize fair trade as an expression of core Jewish values, seek out fair trade Judaica products, and use their purchasing power to support thriving communities of artisans around the world.

Ikamva Labantu (South Africa)

Ikamva Labantu is a South African organization dedicated to advancing community development and individual livelihoods in Cape Town’s townships, developing solutions by South Africans for South Africans, building step by step, and person by person.

Among their artisan participants is Thabisa, who lives in Guguletu and contracted polio at age two. As her family’s sole provider, she depends on her Community Creations salary to support her and her brother’s four children.

Another community member, Mavis, has been hearing impaired since the age of four and is the only breadwinner in her large extended family.

Lungile also contracted polio at a young age and is dependent on removal prosthesis and crutches to be mobile. He is responsible for overseeing production and quality control. According to his co-workers, Lungile is the one who keeps everyone smiling.

Fair Trade Judaica's website would never have happened without three extraordinary people:Lisa K. Chanoff, whose generous donation made the project possible,Dean MacDonald who captured our essence with his brilliant logo and artistic influence, andAaron Hodge Silver who took our ideas and built a website we can grow into for a long time to come.